US close: Markets slide as oil price plummets

US stocks fell on Tuesday after energy companies slumped as oil prices reached a three-year low.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 17. 60 points up to 17,383.84, while the S&P 500 was largely unchanged to 2,017.81 and the Nasdaq closed 13.06 points down to 4,156.23.

The Eurozone economy is now expected to expand by just 0.8% and 1.1% in 2014 and 2015, according to the European Commission, compared with its previous forecasts in May of 1.2% and 1.7% respectively.

News from the Eurozone saw already weak oil prices slide even further, with Brent and West Texas intermediate crude falling around 2% to just under $83 and just over $77 a barrel respectively. Saudi Arabia lowered prices for crude exports to US customers ahead of US government data due out on Wednesday which is expected to show that stockpiles rose by 1.9m barrels last week.

Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari UK, said it was premature to claim there was a connection between weak stocks and falling oil prices. "Weaker oil prices may be bad for the big oil companies, but when it comes to the global economy, it's actually a hidden stimulus," he said.

Meanwhile, the US trade deficit jumped 7.6% in September to the highest level since late spring as exports to Europe, China and Japan all dropped, further proof that the US economy is starting to be affected by slower growth in the economies of key trading partners.

According to data released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, the trade gap rose to a seasonally adjusted $43bn in September from a slightly revised $40bn in August.

Exports fell 1.5% to $195.6bn, while imports were stable at $238.6bn and the real goods balance widened to a deficit of $50.8bn.

US citizens will go to the polls for the mid-term elections on Tuesday with the race for Senate deemed too close to call, as the Republicans look to secure both chambers of the Congress.

On Tuesday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said that the US economy remained on track to grow at a 3% annual rate by 2016, which should allow the Federal Reserve to move ahead with plans to hike short-term interest rates.

Alibaba rose 3.63% after announcing that quarterly revenue jumped 54% in the three months to September and net profit climbed 39%, while Herbalife plummeted 20.57% after disappointing third-quarter results.

RetailMeNot sank 29.14% despite posting strong results, as the firm warned much of its growth was due to "lower monetising mobile visits", while Sprint Corp fell 17.62% after results missed estimates.

Apple and Google were largely unchanged after two tech giants announced they had reached a deal with Disney which will allow consumers who buy a Disney movie from either of their online stores to watch on smartphones, tablets and other digital devices even if they run their rival's operating system.

The dollar was in retreat against the pound, the yen and the euro, while gold futures slid to $1,168.60.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note dropped one basis points to 2.34%, while the 30-year note fell two basis points to 3.05% and the five-year Treasuries was stable at 1.63%.

S&P 500 - Risers
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) $49.54 +4.85%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $42.32 +4.21%
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $44.39 +3.96%
International Paper Co. (IP) $52.60 +3.91%
Zoetis Inc (ZTS) $39.12 +3.71%
Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE) $217.52 +3.68%
Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI) $66.76 +3.22%
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $36.43 +3.17%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $75.76 +2.54%
L Brands Inc (LB) $74.28 +2.54%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,097.70 -8.41%
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) $16.37 -7.09%
Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR) $11.28 -7.01%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $33.32 -6.59%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $36.57 -6.57%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $53.06 -6.45%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $372.39 -5.79%
LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $84.07 -5.77%
Noble Corporation plc (NE) $19.15 -5.71%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $27.35 -5.26%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $88.64 +1.44%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $77.26 +1.28%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $24.88 +1.22%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $101.13 +1.18%
3M Co. (MMM) $155.05 +1.14%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $108.62 +1.08%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $94.47 +0.92%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $59.37 +0.76%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.54 +0.67%
Visa Inc. (V) $242.97 +0.59%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $98.61 -1.61%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $90.35 -1.48%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $115.37 -1.21%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $162.65 -1.04%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $60.25 -1.03%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $94.52 -0.78%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $68.51 -0.54%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $190.27 -0.29%
Boeing Co. (BA) $125.84 -0.15%
AT&T Inc. (T) $34.79 -0.14%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $44.39 +3.96%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $75.76 +2.54%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $241.96 +2.29%
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $70.12 +2.08%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $83.15 +1.72%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $136.55 +1.70%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $71.07 +1.66%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $47.08 +1.60%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $20.13 +1.31%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $24.88 +1.22%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,097.70 -8.41%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $33.32 -6.59%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $372.39 -5.79%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $69.63 -4.39%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $33.33 -2.97%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $83.89 -2.37%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $185.26 -2.24%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $158.44 -2.01%
Liberty Interactive Corp (QVCA) $25.77 -1.83%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $54.63 -1.74%